Penulis: adiprakarsa

Hello it’s already September and I know I haven’t post anything in months. This post is a re-post, I got this from a friend a year ago. I re-read this on my phone when I was waiting for a friend in some fast food restaurant and it struck me. A month ago I was preparing for my first solo exhibition ever and now I’m preparing another thing but this time it has nothing to do with photography, BUT it requires me to travel to familiar places. Familiar but new, new experience maybe. I’m looking forward to October so bon courage to myself. Here’s that old post I’m talking, take it as a reminder. Well at least, we travel or move to different places every day.

What advice would a 70 or 80 year old person give about the way life should be lived?

1. Have a firm handshake.
2. Look people in the eye.
3. Sing in the shower.
4. Own a great stereo system.
5. If in a fight, hit first and hit hard.
6. Keep secrets.
7. Never give up on anybody. Miracles happen everyday.
8. Always accept an outstretched hand.
9. Be brave. Even if you’re not, pretend to be. No one can tell the difference.
10. Whistle.
11. Avoid sarcastic remarks.
12. Choose your life’s mate carefully. From this one decision will come 90 per cent of all your happiness or misery.
13. Make it a habit to do nice things for people who will never find out.
14. Lend only those books you never care to see again.
15. Never deprive someone of hope; it might be all that they have.
16. When playing games with children, let them win.
17. Give people a second chance, but not a third.
18. Be romantic.
19. Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.
20. Loosen up. Relax. Except for rare life-and-death matters, nothing is as important as it first seems.
21. Don’t allow the phone to interrupt important moments. It’s there for our convenience, not the caller’s.
22. Be a good loser.
23. Be a good winner.
24. Think twice before burdening a friend with a secret.
25. When someone hugs you, let them be the first to let go.
26. Be modest. A lot was accomplished before you were born.
27. Keep it simple.
28. Beware of the person who has nothing to lose.
29. Don’t burn bridges. You’ll be surprised how many times you have to cross the same river.
30. Live your life so that your epitaph could read, No Regrets
31. Be bold and courageous. When you look back on life, you’ll regret the things you didn’t do more than the ones you did.
32. Never waste an opportunity to tell someone you love them.
33. Remember no one makes it alone. Have a grateful heart and be quick to acknowledge those who helped you.
34. Take charge of your attitude. Don’t let someone else choose it for you.
35. Visit friends and relatives when they are in hospital; you need only stay a few minutes.
36. Begin each day with some of your favorite music.
37. Once in a while, take the scenic route.
38. Send a lot of Valentine cards. Sign them, ‘Someone who thinks you’re terrific.’
39. Answer the phone with enthusiasm and energy in your voice.
40. Keep a note pad and pencil on your bed-side table. Million-dollar ideas sometimes strike at 3 a.m.
41. Show respect for everyone who works for a living, regardless of how trivial their job.
42. Send your loved ones flowers. Think of a reason later.
43. Make someone’s day by paying the toll for the person in the car behind you.
44. Become someone’s hero.
45. Marry only for love.
46. Count your blessings.
47. Compliment the meal when you’re a guest in someone’s home.
48. Wave at the children on a school bus.
49. Remember that 80 per cent of the success in any job is based on your ability to deal with people.
50. Don’t expect life to be fair.

Today is Friday and this month is still April. To be honest, I haven’t made any plans for travelling. Quiet contrast compared what happened to the first three months of 2015. Am I slowing down? Am I too lazy? What happened if I had no hunger for just one tasteful wanderlust? I don’t feel anything at the moment really. So I just post the photograph above, it was taken a few months ago. It was in Terbanggi, Lampung, Sumatera. I decided to stop and took several shots. It was nearly raining and I just had to make those quick shots and I think that’s one of the consequences during travelling. Nevertheless, that was my first time I went to the Sumatera Island. Yes, after all these years I finally went there. I just have to wait 27 years, yes just waiting casually. In fact, I haven’t been to Sulawesi,Sumbawa,Flores and Papua Island. Ridiculous? I know! So where am I? Where I’ve been all my life? Moving one path to another. The fact I bought a big map of Indonesia and put it near my bed so I could ashamed of myself, but that’s another thing. The thing is and the ultimate question is “where should I go?”, I kept questioning to myself. I want to see something else and I want to feel again. Maybe now I’m a bit preoccupied in Bandung. I’m running one business and another, preparing one exhibition (yes photography exhibition, of course!). Beside that, I’m planning to collaborate with some friends so I’m looking forward to do it! Speaking of friend, today I saw a friend book her flight to one destination that we all know (Indonesian know this destination!), THE destination. She was excited and all, we decided to breakdown the map of THE destination. I mentioned several places to visit, it was quiet interesting actually but then again, I still no have that urge to go. In times like these, I’m learning to slowing things down, as in my ever-growing wanderlust and pacing up things, as in business. I’m all in for business at the moment and writing this down made me realized that my mind is already prioritizing itself. In time like these, also I found something to be grateful of, it’s quiet simple actually . From time to time,years,months,weeks,days,hours,minutes and seconds, I realized that nothing is mundane and I don’t believe in coincidence. In times like these, I relearn and I’m willing to learn again, this is not a hint that I’m going study in the formal stage straight away. In times like these, I like to look back on some magic on photographs, not the soft copy on my monitor but tangible photograph as in prints, today we look at them carefully. Of moments,places,faces and colors all in one photographs. In time likes these, you will live a life you will remember.

Sometimes or every other time, one gets too much shots when they came back from one travelling. So this week, I was surfing into my archive and of course photographs archive. I like to archive in my very own way. There’s one folder I named “TRAVELLING”. So #1 is the first time I do those travels, I decided to recount it to #1 because I want to and I felt that before #1, I happened to be visiting many places but for one reason, I just decided to put it just #1. On 2009, I went to Bali after graduating the bachelor degree. I know I was crazy shooter back then and brought many cameras. One of them is Olympus Pen EE2, it was underrated. Even I put it outside my backpack and I don’t have any case for it. The feeling of going back to Bali (after years and years), it’s very different. I’m all ready to shoot everything and I guess looking back now, I missed so many stuff. Oh well, time passed and I visited Bali three years later on 2012 for academic research matter. 2009 was a good year, I graduated and I traveled. Back then, I’m not that type of people who wants to travel every inches of the earth. I was happy-go-lucky shooter who happens to shoot Bali. Don’t think Just Shoot, I like that. I always like that rule. It’s free and it represent freedom of expressing what you like and what you shoot. You like what you shoot and that’s the very basic of enjoying photography. Sometimes, I personally over think it especially these days. The present days, the year is 2015. I thought a lot before I shoot something. 2009, I didn’t think this much or that much. The camera is on my hand and all I have to do is click the shutter button. I want to go back, where I could be free. I’m running through my own photo archive and I found this photograph. Situated in the streets of Denpasar,Bali, I was walking and I saw this boy running freely. I immediately shot frame 1 and his mother was walking quickly towards him then I decided to shot frame 2. To me, this photograph represent both 2009 and 2015. The past and the present. To be honest, I haven’t seen this photograph for years and to see it again, it’s like opening up a door that I could walk through times and memories. I want to feel again and see new places and faces. Where? I don’t know. I’m still sorting out photographs for my upcoming exhibition. May the force be with you!

I met him four years ago when my friend and I were in Mount Bromo. I think it was on September 2011. At that time, we were walking to Mount Bromo after watching the most beautiful sunrise ever. My tired legs didn’t stopped me to shoot everything around me because come on I’m in Mount Bromo and my trusty LC-A+ is in my hand, what more can I expect?!

As I shot this and that in the dessert, I saw many horses and Mount Bromo’s local people who ride them. So when I walk, I stumbled upon this lad and I think he’s much younger than me. All looking bold and cool. He offers me to ride a horse because he said that walking to Mount Bromo is so so tiring but instead accepting his offer, I decided to talk to him ” How about I shot you?” then he asked several questions. Questions I never get before from people I met during my travelling. So after we agree on some terms (no, I didn’t give him any money! because he didn’t asked for it too) I shot him! (He wants to pose like that, the classic smoking-cigarette-in the hand pose!)

After shooting him, I asked him.. “what is your name?”, he replied “Tomtom…”, still looking cool while holding cigarette in his hand and I learned a lot from this moment that I have to ask before I shot stranger during my travel. So yes Tomtomo teach me how to shot stranger!
Since that I’ve been travel a lot from India to Ubud and I always remember Tomtom every time I shot a stranger. In the near future, I must met him and give this photograph to him, maybe two photographs, one is for him and one for me with his autograph on it. He changed the way I took portraits.

This morning, I decided to listen to an old, not old but Death Cab For Cutie’s album which is Codes and Keys. I straight away play the track, “You are A Tourist”. It’is quiet lyrical yet represents reality. A bitter sweet images in sounds. I will just copy paste the lyrics here, just so you know.

When there’s a burning in your heart
An endless yearning in your heart
Build it bigger than the sun
Let it grow, let it grow
When there’s a burning in your heart
Don’t be alarmed

When there’s a doubt within your mind
Because you’re thinking all the time
Framing rights into wrongs
Move along, move along
When there’s a doubt within your mind

When there’s a burning in your heart
And you think it’ll burst apart
Or there’s nothing to feel
Save the tears, save the tears
When there’s a burning in your heart

And if you feel just like a tourist in the city you were bornThen it’s time to goAnd define your destinationThere’s so many different places to call homeBecause when you find yourself the villain in the story you have writtenIt’s plain to seeThat sometimes the best intentions are in need of redemptions
Would you agree?
If so please show me

DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE – YOU ARE A TOURIST

Anyway this week, I treat myself with a brand new lens. Yes, it’s the lens that I’m searching for. I’m ready to be a tourist with touristy shots, it’s quiet hard to avoid touristy shots these days to be honest. But I’m up to the challenges anyway. Live a life, you will remember.

Why “Pergi Jauh” ? In Bahasa Indonesia, “Pergi Jauh” means go far away, go far or kids these days called it “GO FAR OR GO HOME” or “GO HARD OR GO HOME”. The terms of “Pergi Jauh”, I kind of like it mainly because it’s Bahasa Indonesia, it’s familiar to Indonesia when people said “Pergi Jauh”, it’s different when one said it, “PERGI JAUH!!!”, it means that one is like screaming to another person to just “GO AWAY!!! (for the rest of their live!). I like it!

When I decided to to shoot the photograph above, I sense that I just had to shot with a square format camera which is Lubitel+ and a redscale film. I want to capture different landscapes or different view, kind of cliche but it’s true. Gumuk Pasir is a scenic nature landscape. I was there at noon so it’s kind of hot, yeah really hot I must admit. I wearing flip flops, yes! A Mickey Mouse one that I borrowed from my cousin. I like Gumuk Pasir view, it totally made me felt so small. As I walk and run to get different views but still Gumuk Pasir is just so big. To keep it casual, let’s just say I will go to Gumuk Pasir but this time I will use other camera to capture the majestic but BIG landscape. Desert, there’s a desert in Gumuk Pasir but unfortunately I didn’t wear any desert boots, there’s always be a next time for me. At least, I have a reason to go back. What reason? to use a desert boots in Gumuk Pasir’s desert. That’s too much desert in one sentence. As I always said before that this Gumuk Pasir is big, I recommend to you all that you have to bring a camera (Of course!) and make damn sure you have those weird films (if you’re a film photographer) or download a lot of weird filters in your phone. You can go “Here’s Mars!”, to caption your photo in the social media or go “Red Planet”, am I using the Mars reference again? Oh forgive me. Please do.

But first thing is first. You can run mad in Gumuk Pasir. That’s all! Live a life,you will remember.

I’ve been doing a lot of travelling these days. I’m grateful, I’m in awe and I’m happy. To wake up and wander is just something I can’t get used to. It’s too exciting, it’s something that I always look forward to. So on this opportunity, I would like make it official. This site will be Adi Prakarsa’s travel journal. I just want to share bland travel experiences and maybe you all could get something out of it. Maybe you’ll book a plane ticket right away or maybe you can close the tab after reading this sentence. It’s up to you. Live a life, you will remember.